Paramedic makes art to cope with high-stress job
Emergency medical responder uses his passion and creativity to cope with high-stress job
Brad Forward tries hard to wipe out the images in his head from the tragedies he sees on the job.
As an emergency medical responder for 22 years, he’s had plenty to try and wipe out, having attended numerous horrific and heart-wrenching scenes.
“I can tell you things that would turn your hair white,” the 43-year-old Shearstown man said.
“I’ve seen a lot of people quit because they’re so damaged, both physically and mentally. In times of emergency, when most people are running away, we’re running in. … A good day for us is when everybody lives…
“I’m very good at blocking it out, but how do you really forget that stuff? With some prodding, it can all come back pretty quick.”
To help him erase those mental pictures, he creates pictures of a different kind.
Forward is an artist who works in pencil, leads, ink, coloured pencils and watercolour pencils to create a range of work — from portraits of colleagues and self-portraits that portray whatever emotion he’s feeling at the time, to damsels in distress and dark images with rock and roll.
“I let my imagination guide me,” said Forward, who added he can go eight hours non-stop working on a piece if the creative juices are flowing. “Sometimes, something’s in my head and it’ll be about work. Other times, I just let my brain go. Sometimes, I have absolutely no control with what comes pouring out on the paper.”
He also created the cover photo for the CD “In Case We Forget,” the first album release by his uncle, Peter G. Noel.
Art not only helps Forward express his buried emotions, but helps him deal with the daily stresses of his job.
“My artwork lets me vent it in a healthy way. Part of keeping ourselves mentally healthy is having a healthy coping mechanism,” said Forward, who hasn’t been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, but believes he feels the effects of it.
“After major incidents, we have clinical debriefings and counsellors come in and talk to us, but what’s said in that room stays in that room. Confidentiality rules prohibit us from talking to anyone about it, even our spouses. That’s tough, because talking about things helps you cope. So, I use my art.”
One of Forward’s pieces is a self-portrait in which he’s holding his heart in his hands. He calls it “Medic, Assess Thine Self.”
“It’s a reminder to me and a shout-out to my brothers and sisters,” he said. “This can be a lonely racket, and we all have our ghosts. One of the survival techniques is you develop a very thick skin to the point you go numb …
“Thing is, you can get so numb that you’re seen as heartless. That artwork is me saying, do a check and make sure your heart is still there.”
One of his special pieces is a portrait of his late friend and colleague, Darren Taylor, who was killed in a car crash a few years ago. When he offered to draw the picture for Taylor’s mother as a memorial to her son, she told him to make two and to give the other one to the Health Sciences Centre. He did and the picture hangs on the wall of the hospital’s emergency department.
Forward has sold a few of his pieces, but he doesn’t do it for money — just to feel good. He plans to continue creating art as long as he can.
“There’s no retirement plans for me,” he said laughing. “I’ll do it until they put me in a pine box.”
Just as the conversation was ending, Forward had to abruptly take off when a received a call for service.
“Duty calls!” he said.